The political thriller Madras Cafe completes its 8 years today. Madras Cafe came to the screens on 23 August 2013 and it features John Abraham, Nargis Fakhri, and Raashi Khanna in the lead roles. After the 2011 musical drama Rockstar, it was the second film Fakhri. She was chosen for the role because the makers were looking for a girl with an ‘accent.’
Set during the late 1980s and early 1990s, John Abraham plays the role of Major Vikram Singh, an army officer appointed by RAW to preside covet operations in Jaffna ( a province in Sri Lanka) after the withdrawal of Indian peace-keeping forces during the Civil War.
The movie was earlier named ‘Jaffna’ but was changed to ‘Madras Cafe.’ Even though it is a fictional tale, themes like the civil war in Sri Lanka ultimately point to real-life occurrences. Several people demanded the ban of the movie before its release, but after a lot of hassle, it finally made its way to the theatres.
Directed by Shoojit Sircar, who is known for the movies like Vicky Donor, Piku, October, and Gulabo Sitabo- each of them giving us various treats– Madras Cafe is no different.
With extraordinary cinematography mixed with John Abraham’s action and a somewhat decent plot– Madras Cafe is totally worth watching!
On the 8th Anniversary of Madras Cafe, let us read some of the unknown facts about the movie!
1. It is based on real-life events
The 20-year-long civil war in Sri Lanka which finally ended in 2009 has been demonstrated in the film. It also contains the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi.
Also, the director himself called it a fictional account, several elements from the movie directly point to real-life incidents.
2. It took 7-8 Years to make the film
The director of the film, Shoojit Sircar, in an interview, said that he approached John Abraham 7-8 years back with the idea of Madras Cafe. John was very forthcoming and had good suggestions for the subjects.
When the director saw just how keen John Abraham was to work on the film, he did not approach anyone else. However, what took such a long time for the completion of the project remains hidden!
3. It was easier to film Madras Cafe than Vicky Donor!
An action-packed film that managed to portray a civil war was easier to film than the 2012 romantic comedy Vicky Donor. Envisioning a civil war is a big deal indeed, but a film on sperm donation was never made in India before.
The director had to imagine a genre which was never been displayed in the country before and had to captivate the attention of the audience as well.
4. Some groups demanded to ban on the movie
The movie is a fictionalized account of the death of the ex-prime minister of the country, Rajiv Gandhi. It shows the LTTE group of Sri Lankan Tamils who were mixed in the controversy. A petition was also filed in the court demanding the ban of the movie. When it finally came to theatres, police protection was offered to the cinema halls.
Several Tamil activists group demanded that the film should be banned due to the propagation of anti-Tamil sentiments.
5. The film is shot in 5 different countries
London, Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand are the 5 different locations where the shooting was done.
If you have watched the film, you must already be aware of the beautiful locations it has for the audience!
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